


A Million Favors

by swordpoint



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Fix-It, M/M, Post-Episode: s15e18 Despair, Supernatural (TV) Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:40:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27653563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swordpoint/pseuds/swordpoint
Summary: Dean's love language is acts of service, why the hell wouldn't he be in love with Castiel?
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Kudos: 23





	A Million Favors

When Chuck blasts them, it’s not without mercy. This is the killing blow, Dean thinks, his head pounding and his clothes splattered with his own blood. He looks to his left and sees Sam in a similar condition, breathing heavily with a terrified look on his face. Dean can only assume he has the same expression before the impact hits and everything goes white.

When Dean wakes up, he knows he is in Heaven. It is absolutely beautiful, and green, and the air is the freshest he’s ever breathed. He sees a familiar building up ahead, and a long lost friend drinking a beer.

“Bobby…” Dean says in disbelief. Bobby just laughs and claps him on the shoulder, drawing him into a hug.

“I’ve missed you so much, boy,” Bobby says, and Dean tries to hold back tears. “Care for a drink?”

“Of course, sure…” Dean says, feeling breathless. Bobby reaches into the cooler next to him and hands him his own beer. “Bobby… is this Heaven?”

“If you have to ask, then you already know,” Bobby says, an unreadable smile on his face. “Strange, though… I didn’t think you’d be here yet.”

Dean laughs. “Hey, I fought the big man himself. We didn’t really stand much of a chance, honestly.” He feels a tug in his chest, that familiar pain he’s gotten used to these days. Dean swallows. “Didn’t have any angel power. Or anyone else, for that matter.”

“See, thing of it is…” Bobby says, his brow narrowed in confusion. “That angel of yours did all of this for you. He’s been fluttering around trying to make everything perfect so that when you die on Earth, you’ll have this place to come to.” Bobby smiles, looking wistful. “He really cares about you, son. That kind of love is rare.”

Dean swallows again, his heart hammering away in his chest. “I know, I know, I owe Cas a million favors… where is the feathery bastard, anyway?”

“Clearly trying to fix his mistake,” Bobby snorts, only confusing Dean even more. He sighs. “You see, Cas promised us- Ellen, your mom, even your damn dad- that he wouldn’t let a thing happen to you on Earth until you had lived out your days as an old man. You’ve still got time, Dean.”

“Are you serious, Bobby?” Dean asks, his mind racing a mile a minute. Everyone he loves is here… but why didn’t Cas come back to him? Why didn’t he tell him what he was doing? Bobby sternly nods.

“Could I ask…” Dean pauses, unsure how to word his question. “Why Cas didn’t tell me about this? I had no idea where he was. We thought he was in the Empty, but then evidence pointed to here- but he’s a goddamn  _ angel _ , so why wouldn’t he be able to-”

“I think,” Bobby says, a fond smile on his face, “that is something you can discuss with said angel.” Putting his beer down, he pulls Dean in for another hug. “I love you, son. I’m so, so proud of you, you know that?”

Dean nods. “Love you too, Bobby. But wait, why-”

Everything is white again as a cool feeling runs through Dean’s veins. His eyes open and he’s by the river, his brother unconscious on the ground not far from him. He looks to his right and sees a familiar angel and his son in a stand-off with Chuck. There’s a burst of light before Chuck is knocked to the ground, and Jack seemingly absorbs Chuck’s power before Dean passes out. When he wakes up, he is in his own bed at the bunker. He feels a familiar shift in the mattress and knows exactly who is sitting at the edge of his bed.

“Hello, Dean,” Castiel says, a small smile on his face.

Dean laughs and just can’t help himself. He stands up so that he’s facing Cas, and the angel just looks at him in confusion before he puts both his hands on Cas’s shoulders. He’s just in his white dress shirt, wrinkled as usual, and touching him again is more of a relief than Dean can describe. The trench coat is in his car, Dean reminds himself, kept safe for Cas’s inevitable return. “Come here, you son of a bitch.”

Dean pulls Cas into a crushing hug. This angel had done so much for him, had sacrificed his life countless times, and had even created the perfect paradise for his afterlife. He had absolutely no idea how to make it up to him.

Memories of their last conversation suddenly come flooding back and Dean can feel his heart hammering away in his chest again. He looks into Cas’s eyes, trying to drum up the courage to say something, anything regarding how he truly felt. Words fail him, however. He feels helpless in this situation, in which his angel had put his most honest feelings and entire life on the line for him. All for him. What had he given him in return?

“Cas...” Dean starts, before his lip begins to quiver. “I’m so sorry, I did so much to try to get into that damn Empty, I tried to contact Heaven somehow, but I’m-“

“It’s alright, Dean,” Cas says, his voice low and soft. “You didn’t do anything wrong. You never have.”

“Ha,” Dean laughs, pulling away from Cas and wiping a stray tear on his cheek. “That’s debatable.”

“I was serious, what I said when I last saw you... you deserve the best.”

“See, that’s the thing…” Dean says, standing up again. “Where have you been all this time? After you went to the Empty, or Heaven, or wherever… why couldn’t you contact me on Earth?”

Cas sighs. “I was scared, Dean. After my deal came to an end, I ended up in Heaven. I had endless powers there and could recreate my surroundings, and I realized I could do one last thing for you if I’m ever to disappear again. I want your afterlife to be pleasant, Dean. And your life on Earth.” He smiles at Dean, and he feels his stomach flip. “I suppose I could have tried to visit, but frankly I… wanted to give you your space, in case I was getting in the way of that.”

Dean feels instant anger, rage that Cas would ever assume Dean doesn’t want him around. “Cas, you and all your damn feathers and angsty crap belong here no matter what. Honestly, man, I’m real tired of the track record we’ve got going. You say I changed you, but… you’ve done so much for me, and what have I ever done for you? Die and need to be rescued like a little damsel in distress? Please.”

Maybe years ago, Cas would instinctively fight back with his words. He would echo one of the first things he ever said to Dean, questioning whether or not Dean believes he deserves to be saved, and Dean would feel his chest twist with the uncomfortable feeling of worthlessness. Cas has always made him really look at himself and reconsider what he sees when he looks in the mirror, or when he feels like human garbage. He makes him believe that he’s not a monster, and that he’s someone worth loving.

Instead of saying anything, however, Cas pulls Dean into a hug. He wraps his arms around Dean and he feels loved yet again, a reminder that someone is willing to do anything for him and doesn’t mind that he’s got baggage. Cas knows everything about Dean and loves him anyway, and Dean needs him to understand how much that means to him.

“Cas, I’ll never get to pull you out of Hell, or build you a damn Heaven, or even pull you out of Purgatory, for that matter,” Dean says, scoffing at the memory. “But I’ll spend every day making you coffee, and taking care of your damn plants, and showing you exactly what it’s like to really live. I love you and I would be so, so screwed without you. I always am.”

Dean pulls back so he can look at Cas. He sees his blue eyes swimming with emotion again, and he is reminded of the last time he saw him with tears streaming down his face because he thought that was the end for them. Dean couldn’t be more relieved that he was wrong. He leans in and kisses his angel like he should have a long time ago, and it feels like something he’s done a thousand times before because it feels like coming home. Pressing his forehead against Cas’s, he sees the shock and bliss on his angel’s face before he laughs.

“See, Cas?” Dean says, and Cas narrows his eyes. “You always could have had me… all you had to do was ask.”

Cas shakes his head. “That’s not true, Dean. You’re… harder to read than that.”

“Are you accusing me of playing hard to get?”

Cas looks confused for a moment before shrugging and nodding.

“Ha! The angel who disappears if you look at him wrong is accusing  _ me _ of playing hard to get? Sam, wait till you hear this-”

Dean is running out the door and down the hallway, Cas in pursuit not far behind him. Seeing the chase, Miracle runs after them and starts barking, giving Cas a jump and almost making him trip. Hearing the commotion, Sam comes out of his room and gasps when he sees Cas, running up to hug the angel. “Jack!” He’s yelling down the hallway, and soon enough they’re all fussing over Cas and his return and Dean excuses himself to go grab Cas’s trench coat from the car because he knows Cas is going to ask him for it anyway. Dean also just loves the face Cas makes when he gives it back to him, as if it were a promise that the two of them have always kept, that he would hold on to his jacket until the end of time if there were still a chance Cas could come back.

Sure enough, Cas’s eyes light up when Dean hands him the damn thing, and he immediately puts it on. “Thank you, Dean,” he says, his smile melting Dean’s heart, and he really can’t believe his luck. His family had grown and changed so much over the years, but he never truly felt like he had a handle on anything. Everything would always slip through his fingers, and nothing good lasted for long. Something feels different about this time, however. Like he had done something right.

**Author's Note:**

> So Dean not getting a confession scene was truly a travesty. My dream for Dean was to grow old on Earth and have the happy apple pie ending with Cas, and boy did that not happen. I tried rewriting the finale a couple of times before I settled on this plot because I was originally starting from Dean dying and ending up in Heaven. Dean dying at the end of his character really just left a bad taste in my mouth, however, and I realized I had to go back farther than that to write something that feels less depressing. I hope you enjoyed my quick take on the finale!


End file.
